750 Records of the Indian Museum. [\'oi. XXII, 



tance ; the peculiarit}' has arisen at various times, and is found in 

 a number of genera of Megascolecinae, — MegascoUdes, Notoscolex, 

 Megascolcx, and Plionogastcr. With this I agree ; there are many 

 varieties of nephridial distribution in the genus Megascolcx, and 

 I see no reason for separating the worms possessing this particular 

 form of nephridial distribution as a separate genus; iiadeed. M. 

 cschcrichi var. papillifer has this special arrangement while the 

 type form of the species has not. Nor is there anything in the geo- 

 graphical distribution of the worms with this special arrangement 

 to suggest a common origin. 



The genus Eudichogaster I have placed under the subfamily 

 Octochaetinae, instead of, as has been done by Michaelsen, under 

 the Trigastrinae. I have discussed the question of the descent 

 and systematic position of the genus at some length in a recent 

 paper (i6), and need not refer to it further here. 



Michaelsen has recently (g) united the Glossoscolecidae and 

 Lumbricidae as one family, the latter group becoming a subfamily, 

 the Lumbricinae, and the several subfamilies of the former becom- 

 ing subfamilies of the Lumbricidae, s.l. I can have no hesitation 

 in adopting the view of one whose experience of these groups 

 entitles him to speak with the authoritj' of Dr. Michaelsen. 



Fam. NAIDIDAE. 



Gen. Nais, O. F. M. em. Vejd. 



Nais paraguayensis, Mich. 



Pachinarhi, Satpura Hills, Central Provinces; 300 ft. no date. F. H. 

 Gravely. Numerous specimens. 



Indian specimens have been found to be larger than those 

 originally described by Michaelsen (5), and the nutnber of their 

 segments greater ; this is the case also with the present specimens, 

 the longest of which measured 13-14 mm. In one example 106 

 segments were counted, plus a posterior region of some little 

 length in which new segments were about to be differentiated. 

 None showed any sign of fission. 



The coelomic corpuscles are large, a fairly large one being 

 i6m in diameter, and one of average size 12/' ; they are circular in 

 shape, with a central nucleus. 



No budding zone, nor any sign of approaching fission has 

 apparently as yet been observed in this worm, nor have sexual 

 organs been seen. It is therefore a question how the animal 

 ordinarily reproduces itself. I think it possible that it does so bj- 

 simple fragmentation, — i.e. without the formation of an internal 

 budding zone, — and subsequent regeneration. Thus, in the pre- 

 sent batch of material, besides the longer worms are some much 

 shorter, with a large number of new segments, evidently rapidly 

 produced, at the hinder end ; this appearance of a considerable 

 length of rapidly produced posterior segments seems to he a 

 frequent characteristic (compare, for example, the description 



